First of all I'm not certain if 'people carrier' is the correct choice of words.

My wife is looking for an extended saloon - the one with three rows of seats, to carry more family & kids around.

We've looked at a few. Nissan do the X-Trail, so that describes what we're looking for.

 

I'm keen on looking at hybrid versions. I thought it would be more energy efficient (although I'm open to correction on that).

Are they a good idea? They seem to all have home charging options.

 

When we went to look at a Ford Everest, the sales guy told us Ford don't do hybrids for them. He said they were not a good idea anyway - he's bound to say that was my impression.

I mentioned to him the Nissan sales woman told us a replacement battery array for the X-Trail hybrid version was 20,000 Baht, which I thought was cheap. The Ford guy poo-pooed that straight away saying the price was 300,000 Baht.

 

Does anyone have any links to websites comparing hybrid people carriers and also the pros and cons of hybrids generally?

 

The battery replacement for an X-trail hybrid is not 20,000 THB, but almost 250,000 THB (incl 7% VAT). 

If you are looking to transport 6+ people often, I would recommend looking at the Hyundai H1 or Toyota Innova. Not sure if an X-trail can be classified as a people carrier...as it only fits 5 grown-ups.

Toyota Alphard comes as a Hybrid - they seem to be the leaders for hybrids (IMO of course) personally I would only choose one as my next vehicle & I think the technology is mature enough to be reliable and safe etc..... 

4 hours ago, JoeW said:

The battery replacement for an X-trail hybrid is not 20,000 THB, but almost 250,000 THB (incl 7% VAT). 

If you are looking to transport 6+ people often, I would recommend looking at the Hyundai H1 or Toyota Innova. Not sure if an X-trail can be classified as a people carrier...as it only fits 5 grown-ups.

Thanks for confirming the price.

The passengers will include three toddlers, so the rear seats have been deemed suitable by my wife. Whether she expects Thai adults to cram into those rear seats, I'm not worried, as long as it's not me!

 

2 hours ago, eezergood said:

Toyota Alphard comes as a Hybrid - they seem to be the leaders for hybrids (IMO of course) personally I would only choose one as my next vehicle & I think the technology is mature enough to be reliable and safe etc..... 

Do you think the technology is not yet good enough? It's a straight question, as I know very little about it, hence my asking about the pros and cons.

Hybrid technology as in the Prius, Camry and Alphard/Vellfire have been proven and have been used in Japan for over 10 years now. No need to worry, the question is do you want to pay 3,500,000 for a people carrier....

16 hours ago, bluesofa said:

the pros and cons of hybrids generally?

7 seat hybrids choice is not great and from some manufacturer's not always available as in some cases they are based on existing models .. include the additional equipment that hybrids need and the cabin space doesn't allow for 7 seats .. Those that are designed 7 seaters tend then to be expensive .. The technology behind these cars is pretty tried and tested now ( Toyota's Prius has been around getting on for 20 yrs ) and with a lot of the market choice coming from Japan and S Korea reliable as well .. Some European manufacturers like Mercedes , Volvo and Renault offer 7 seaters but in Thailand I'm not sure of availability yet .. 

 

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is said to be a good vehicle of this ilk and allows for charging at home via mains or charging on the go from a smallish petrol engine and regenerative braking etc should you need to go longer distances .. It is though 'kin expensive starting from £41k and though a 7 seat version is listed I suggest looking at the size of it they may only be 2 additional pop up folding seats in the very back .. 

Mitzy PHEV Outlander below .. 

 

 

3 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Do you think the technology is not yet good enough? It's a straight question, as I know very little about it, hence my asking about the pros and cons.

Tried & tested - very proven 

6 hours ago, JoeW said:

Hybrid technology as in the Prius, Camry and Alphard/Vellfire have been proven and have been used in Japan for over 10 years now. No need to worry, the question is do you want to pay 3,500,000 for a people carrier....

I wonder if I've not described the vehicles we've been looking at clearly enough? I said did say in a later post, "We've looked at a few. Nissan do the X-Trail, so that describes what we're looking for."

The price for that is around 1.5 million Baht, and the equivalent Toyota was about 1 million Baht.

Is 3.5 million Baht for something much large perhaps?

5 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

7 seat hybrids choice is not great and from some manufacturer's not always available as in some cases they are based on existing models .. include the additional equipment that hybrids need and the cabin space doesn't allow for 7 seats .. Those that are designed 7 seaters tend then to be expensive .. The technology behind these cars is pretty tried and tested now ( Toyota's Prius has been around getting on for 20 yrs ) and with a lot of the market choice coming from Japan and S Korea reliable as well .. Some European manufacturers like Mercedes , Volvo and Renault offer 7 seaters but in Thailand I'm not sure of availability yet .. 

 

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is said to be a good vehicle of this ilk and allows for charging at home via mains or charging on the go from a smallish petrol engine and regenerative braking etc should you need to go longer distances .. It is though 'kin expensive starting from £41k and though a 7 seat version is listed I suggest looking at the size of it they may only be 2 additional pop up folding seats in the very back .. 

Mitzy PHEV Outlander below ..

Is the Outlander available in Thailand? I looked on the Mitsu website, but the closest I could see was the Expander, similar to the Nissan X-Trail I thought?

 

I saw it listed here as well  https://www.2019mitsubishicars.com/mitsubishi/mitsubishi-in-thailand/  but when I clcked to read more for the price it took me to a page with the price in sterling, so I wonder if it's not for sale here?

22 hours ago, bluesofa said:

I wonder if I've not described the vehicles we've been looking at clearly enough? I said did say in a later post, "We've looked at a few. Nissan do the X-Trail, so that describes what we're looking for."

The price for that is around 1.5 million Baht, and the equivalent Toyota was about 1 million Baht.

Is 3.5 million Baht for something much large perhaps?

The 3 row / 7 seat X-Trail was available with petrol only.  The Hybrid X-Trail was only available with 5 seats.  Don't think they were plug in chargeable either.  Is this still the case?

21 minutes ago, Jitar said:

The 3 row / 7 seat X-Trail was available with petrol only.  The Hybrid X-Trail was only available with 5 seats.  Don't think they were plug in chargeable either.  Is this still the case?

From what I remember, I'm sure the sales staff said they were petrol and plug-in chargeable.

What other methods of charging are there for hybrids?

 

edit: I didn't actually ask if there were less seats in the hybrid version. I'll have look into that.

X-Trail battery guaranteed for 10 years 

 

At least on the one I have .

39 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

From what I remember, I'm sure the sales staff said they were petrol and plug-in chargeable.

What other methods of charging are there for hybrids?

 

edit: I didn't actually ask if there were less seats in the hybrid version. I'll have look into that.

Non plug in hybrids charge by the internal combustion engine or vehicle's momentum (regenerative braking) driving the motor / generator. 

I have a crv diesel with 7 seats (granted the 3rd row is just for children), but loads of room in the first two rows. There is also a petrol 7 seat version available. I mention it because the diesel version has about the same fuel economy as the previous x-trail hybrid. I like the crv for its torque + 9 speed auto and I get about 15.3 km/l around Nonthaburi, over the last 3000km since I've had it. That's  about the same or slightly better than our suzuki ecocar (see the table). The hybrid nissan will be a little quicker though. There is no seven seat mazda cx-5.

On 5/23/2019 at 7:09 AM, JoeW said:

The battery replacement for an X-trail hybrid is not 20,000 THB, but almost 250,000 THB (incl 7% VAT). 

If you are looking to transport 6+ people often, I would recommend looking at the Hyundai H1 or Toyota Innova. Not sure if an X-trail can be classified as a people carrier...as it only fits 5 grown-ups.

What is the comfort level of the innova like? Better than the fortuner? The diesel version was detuned a but but I reckon it could be made quite fast. It's still a heavy lump though. 

Comfort level is good. Pretty much same as a H1. It is much quieter than a Fortuner on the inside though...

12 hours ago, bluesofa said:

From what I remember, I'm sure the sales staff said they were petrol and plug-in chargeable.

What other methods of charging are there for hybrids?

 

edit: I didn't actually ask if there were less seats in the hybrid version. I'll have look into that.

Was that the same salesperson that told you the replacement battery pack is 20,000 baht?

Why Hybrid? if it is to save gas, how much gas can the additional money  you pay for the Hybrid buy you?

Plenty of non Hybrid  seven seaters available in Thailand, Price range 700,000 baht to 1.5 million baht or you can pay more if you like.

Ertiga, Mobilio, BRV, Sienta,Avanza, Inova, Xpander, everest ,

Mu-X, Trailblazer, Fortuner, Pajero,H1, to list a few,many more that don't come to mind right now.

Go to the different car manufacturer websites research the different vehicles,specifications and prices, chose the vehicles you like, Go to YouTube and watch vehicle reviews. 

Become educated on the vehicles , and then talk to a salesperson, Salespeople Love an uneducated on the subject consumer.